The Book of Beautiful Questions

From the author of the bestselling A More Beautiful Question, a new book featuring hundreds of big and small questions that harness the magic of inquiry to tackle challenges we all face—at work, in our relationships, and beyond.

The Book of Beautiful Questions by “questionologist” Warren Berger contains more than 400 innovative questions to address everyday challenges. With support from experts and research, Berger explains why each question is particularly effective and powerful.

The questions and their related examples and stories will help you:

– Identify opportunities in your career or industry
– Generate fresh ideas in business or in your own creative pursuits
– Check your biases so you can make better judgments and decisions
– Do a better job of communicating and connecting with the people around you

Drawn from the insights and expertise of psychologists, innovators, effective leaders, and some of the world’s foremost creative thinkers, Berger’s beautiful questions will guide readers to their own answers where it matters most.

“Why I wrote this book”

The humble question can be a powerful tool. By asking questions, we learn, analyze, understand—and can move forward in the face of uncertainty. When confronted with almost any demanding situation, in work or life, the act of questioning can help guide us to smart decisions and a sensible course of action. But the questions must be the right ones; the ones that cut to the heart of a complex challenge, or that enable us to see an old problem in a fresh way.

The Book of Beautiful Questions contains many such questions—more than 400 of them, in fact, covering everyday situations that range from getting out of a career rut to strengthening personal relationships. The book is about asking the right questions, at the right time, in order to make the best choices and decisions when it matters most. It is aimed at thinkers, creators, problem-solvers, decision-makers. It’s for people who aren’t looking for a book that claims to offer easy, off-the-shelf answers. The reader of this book is more inclined to think and “hack” their way to their own decisions, solutions, and successful approaches. The Book of Beautiful Questions can help them do that by providing the powerful questions that can guide readers to their own answers.

The idea for this book came out of my experiences in promoting and marketing my previous book, A More Beautiful Question (AMBQ). That book made the case that questioning is often the starting point of innovation and growth—a concept that has resonated in the business world and beyond.

As I gave speeches, did podcasts, and engaged with audiences following that book’s launch, I found that people were galvanized by the potential of questioning, but they also seemed to be hungry for something more specific. They tended to want to know which questions they should be asking with regard to a particular challenge they might be facing or a goal they were pursuing. When I spoke to business leaders, they were most interested in leadership questions, whereas those at creative gatherings sought questions that could spark creativity. Likewise with parents, educators, entrepreneurs, people seeking to improve personal relationships, or those grappling with difficult career choices—all were interested in the specific questions that might help them.

So, I did even more research to figure out where questioning can be particularly useful. Three years in the making, The Book of Beautiful Questions is packed with hundreds of actionable questions encompassing common work / life situations—such as conquering fear of failure, dealing with a difficult boss, connecting more deeply with an old friend, or overcoming creative block. In general, these questions, and their examples of how and when to use them, are intended to help you decide, create, connect, lead, and succeed in challenging times.

In the months leading up to the book’s October 30th publication, I will be sharing sneak previews of the many interesting and useful questions inside the book. Sign up today for my newsletter to get these insights automatically delivered to your inbox.

» Find out more about my 2014 book, A More Beautiful Question, which introduced the power of beautiful questions to the world. Four years later, with sales now well over 100,000, it’s still going strong!

What They're Saying

“The Book of Beautiful Questions is a veritable gold mine. In its pages, you will find fresh (and often brilliant) ways to use the power of the interrogative to sharpen your decision-making, boost your creativity, and deepen your connections to others. Berger’s insights are so potent and his advice so practical that only one question remains: What’s stopping you from picking up this extraordinary book?”

“Why don’t we ask enough questions? Why do we ask so many bad questions? And how can we ask the kinds of great questions that make us better at leading, deciding, connecting and creating? The Book of Beautiful Questions isn’t just a thought-provoking book on questions—it’s also full of instantly useful answers.”

“In The Book of Beautiful Questions Warren Berger shows us the incredible power that inquiry has to approach problems differently and to unearth powerful, innovative solutions. In an increasingly complicated world, knowing how to ask provocative questions is a must-have skill for success.”

“Use Warren Berger and his latest book as a guide for asking not only more beautiful questions but also more important ones. It may well make the difference between a busy life and a life that really matters.”

“Warren Berger raises questioning to an art form. The Book of Beautiful Questions is a vital read for anyone who wants to excel at creativity, leadership, decision-making and interpersonal skills. Berger offers a symphony of questions that will inspire you to become your own maestro of inquiry.”

“Being an effective leader is not so much about having all the answers as asking the right questions. In The Book of Beautiful Questions, Warren Berger shows why questioning is critical to success—and provides hundreds of questions that can help you be a better thinker, partner, problem-solver, and leader.”

“The Book of Beautiful Questions gives us the power to re-imagine our lives. For those who seek to make better decisions and lead more effectively, it’s a transformational resource you'll go back to again and again.”